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The Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture is a state executive position in the Georgia state government. The commissioner heads the Georgia Department of Agriculture, which is responsible for regulating and promoting Georgia's agriculture industry. Like many Georgia state executive officers, the commissioner is elected to four year-terms during federal midterm election years.

Current officeholder

The current commissioner is Gary Black, a Republican, who was first elected on November 2, 2010 and took office on January 10, 2011. Black will come up for re-election, if he chooses to run, in 2014.

Before becoming commissioner, Black co-managed the Georgia Food Industry Partneship for 13 years. He has also served as president of the Georgia Agribusiness Council and as a field representative in the Georgia Farm Bureau. Black holds a bachelor's degree in agricultural education from the University of Georgia.[1]

Authority

The office of agriculture commissioner, though mentioned in the Georgia Constitution, is formally established in state law.[2]

Georgia Code, 33-2-1

The department shall be under the control and management of the Commissioner of Agriculture...

(a) No person shall be eligible to the office of the Secretary of State, Attorney General, State School Superintendent, Commissioner of Insurance, Commissioner of Agriculture, or Commissioner of Labor unless such person shall have been a citizen of the United States for ten years and a legal resident of the state for four years immediately preceding election or appointment and shall have attained the age of 25 years by the date of assuming office. All of said officers shall take such oath and give bond and security, as prescribed by law, for the faithful discharge of their duties.

Elections

The commissioner is elected "at the same time and hold[s] [his] office for the same term as the Governor."

The Secretary of State, Attorney General, State School Superintendent, Commissioner of Insurance, Commissioner of Agriculture, and Commissioner of Labor shall be elected in the manner prescribed for the election of members of the General Assembly and the electors shall be the same. Such executive officers shall be elected at the same time and hold their offices for the same term as the Governor.